


Family

by LiraelClayr007



Series: 31 Days of Ficmas - 2019!! [12]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Family, Found Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21794212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiraelClayr007/pseuds/LiraelClayr007
Summary: When Rose dashed into the TARDIS, into her future, she hadn’t meant to leave her family behind. And she didn’t, not really. She still sees her mum whenever she wants; the Doctor may grumble, but he always takes her back to the Estates. And he and Jackie may glare and glower, but Rose knows better. Affection isn’t always shown with hugs and smiles.But sometimes something twinges.***A picture of different types of family.
Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: 31 Days of Ficmas - 2019!! [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559875
Comments: 14
Kudos: 57
Collections: 31 Days of Ficmas 2019





	Family

It’s seeing the child that does it.

A small girl-child, with a stuffed (unknown to Rose) animal tucked under her arm and her thumb stuck firmly in her mouth. There’s nothing remarkable about her; her hair is straight and brown, her eyes are a mossy green, and she has a sprinkling of freckles on her nose.

Nothing remarkable at all, except that she is a child. And all children are remarkable just by existing, are they not?

She sees Rose and smiles; she’s missing one of her front teeth. “Do you know my mamma?” she asks.

Rose glances at the Doctor, then at Jack. “I don’t think I do. Are you trying to find her?”

Something flashes in the child’s eyes. Sadness? Fear? Longing? It’s none of those, but maybe, somehow, all three at once.

“No,” she says solemnly. “Mamma’s gone. Aunt Rachael says she’s part of the universe now. ’Cause how we’re all made of stardust, and we all go back there in the end.”

They help the girl find her aunt--only five or six steps away, but a frightening distance for someone her size--and before they leave she’s chattering away at them any sadness seemingly forgotten. She spends nearly ten minutes explaining the rules of her favorite game (something they’ve never heard of using playing cards, six dice, and a bowl of cherries) to the travelers before her aunt kisses her on the forehead and tells her it’s time to go home for dinner. She hugs each of them in turn, even gifting Rose with a small peck on the cheek, then follows her aunt across the green.

There’s an ache in Rose’s heart when the child walks away.

When Rose dashed into the TARDIS, into her future, she hadn’t meant to leave her family behind. And she didn’t, not really. She still sees her mum whenever she wants; the Doctor may grumble, but he always takes her back to the Estates. And he and Jackie may glare and glower, but Rose knows better. Affection isn’t always shown with hugs and smiles.

But sometimes something twinges. The child makes her heart ping, and a voice inside yells, “Mum!” so loud she looks around to see if Jack and the Doctor heard it too. They’re bickering about, of all things, the best recipes for bananas, so she’s pretty sure there’s nothing amiss.

When they get back to the TARDIS, Jack slings an arm across her shoulders. “Movie time?” he asks.

Rose snuggles into Jack’s side. She loves his open, easy affection, the way they act like they’ve known each other all their lives; she also loves, in an entirely different way, when their friendship gets under the Doctor’s skin. He hasn’t figured out yet that she loves Jack like a brother, and that she feels something altogether different for the Doctor. She glances toward him now, from the corner of her eye, and sees his jaw clench.

Jealous Doctor. Check.

“Whatcha got in mind?” she asks Jack.

“Lady’s choice,” Jack says, at exactly the same time the Doctor barks out, “We’ve got plans.”

They both look at him, a bit startled. Usually when they leave a planet they spend a little while in the Vortex before the jump into some new adventure. “Already?” Rose can tell by the look on Jack’s face that he’s surprised too.

He pushes up a lever on the console and they’re off, swirling through the Vortex. And then, only a few seconds later, the rotor stops and they land somewhere new.

“Come on,” the Doctor says, his cheerful face back. He pulls Rose away from Jack, leading her by the hand. “I know what you need.” She doesn’t need to look to know he shoots a smug look over his shoulder at Jack.

“Enough, you two,” she mutters, but she’s laughing inside.

Just as they reach the door there’s a knock from the other side. And then another, more insistent knock.

“We’ve been spotted,” says the Doctor, but he doesn’t sound at all worried. He actually sounds like he’d expected it. He pushes open the door, and Rose is engulfed in a hurricane with blond hair.

“Rose!” Jackie says, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “I’ve missed you!” She rounds on the Doctor. “And you,” she says, punctuating her words by poking him in the chest, “you’d do better to land somewhere else next time. I nearly had a heart attack, you suddenly appearing in my living room.” But she’s laughing along with everyone else.

They spend the evening with Jackie, telling her about their adventures and listening to the gossip from the Estates. At one point the Doctor slips into the TARDIS and comes back a few minutes later with two rather dusty bottles of wine. “Had to dig around to find them. I picked them up in 2382, trust me, it was a good year.” They all exchange looks, not sure how to feel about drinking vintage wine that hadn’t actually been made yet, but once they taste it their hesitation is forgotten.

It’s after midnight when Jack insists that he needs his beauty sleep.. “You can hardly get more beautiful, Jack,” Rose teases, but she gets to her feet anyway. “It’s so good to see you, Mum. We’ll come back soon, I promise.” Jackie halfheartedly protests, but in the middle of her argument she has to stifle a yawn.

Rose hugs Jackie, and as she does she feels the last bit of tension from the day drift away. “I love you, Mum,” she says.

“Oh love, you’re my best girl,” Jackie says, a bit teary. She’d always said that to Rose when she was small, and something about hearing the phrase again makes her feel safe. Protected.

“Thanks, Doctor,” Rose says. “You always know what I need.”

“Sometimes a person needs family,” he says. His eyes are distant.

“I’ve _got_ family, right here!” Rose says. Even she is taken aback by the force behind her words. They both just stare at her, barely blinking. “You two are my family, you dolts! Just because we don’t have the same blood, just because we’re not all from the same planet, just because we didn’t grow up together--those things don’t matter. Some families you’re born into. Other families you _find_.”

“I don’t know if I want you to be my sister,” Jack says. “Little sisters are kind of a pain.” He winks.

“Oh good, I’m perfect for the job.” She pulls him into a hug, intentionally stepping on his foot.

“Well that’s settled then,” says Jack, laughing.

Then she takes the Doctor’s hands in hers, looking up at him through her lashes. “You too, Doctor. We’re an unconventional family, but that doesn’t change things.”

“You are _not_ my sister,” he says. Their eyes lock, and she can feel the _something_ that’s they’ve been dancing around almost solidify.

“No,” she says softly. “But we _are_ family.”

And then Jack is between them, an arm around their shoulders, and the moment is broken. “Now can we watch a movie?” he asks, either completely unaware of the tension he’d interrupted or pretending he didn’t notice. So they pile on the sofa with afghans and popcorn and Rose feels a warmth radiating from inside, and from the family she didn’t grow up with but will hold onto with all she has.

It’s not long before she falls asleep, remembering the way her heart skipped when the Doctor looked into her eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> 31 Days of Ficmas || Day 12 - Family
> 
> Found family always gives me all the feels. 💙
> 
> ....and I'm behind. But I'll get there.


End file.
